The Evergreen State College
2000 - 2001
Part-Time Program


Technology and Strategies
for Social Change
 Lessons from the Trickster

Schedule - Spring 2002

(Photo © Adam Kessel);

Wednesdays (April 3,10,17,24; May 1,8,15,22,29; June 5) 6 PM - 10 PM.
Saturdays (April 13, 27; May 18, June 8) 9:15 AM - 5 PM

Updated: April 18, 2002

[Week 1] Introduction to Program

Wednesday, April 3, 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM.

Assignments: for Wednesday, April 10: read Introduction to Roots of Justice: Stories of Organizing in Communities of Color, (pp. ix-xii) and "Mapping the Characteristics of Mythic Tricksters: A Heuristic Guide. (Handout) Ian Frazier: "Webbing," "Coyote V. Acme," and "Thanks for the Memory" (from "Coyote V. Acme") (all handouts); "The Basho of Honk" by Nick Paumgarten (handout) and the article on "Brilliant Digital Entertainment" by David Coursey (handout).

Write a brief response (1-2 paragraphs) to (1) the introduction to Roots of Justice; (2) the Mythic Trickster chapter; and (3) to the four other short pieces. Also write three questions or issues you would like to address in this program. Write a brief description of possible ideas for your final projects (1-2 paragraphs).

[Week 2]

Wednesday, April 10, 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM.

  • Video: Sonic Outlaws
  • Discussion of response papers
  • Discussion of project ideas
  • Formation of project groups;
  • Initial research
Assignment for Saturday, April 13: Read Chapter 12 (pp. 139-151) "Justice, Not Sympathy: Japanese Americans Fight for Dignity and Reparations" and Chapter 3 (pp. 21-30) "The Zoot Suit Riots" of Roots of Justice; read selections from "From the Borderline to the Colorline: A Report on Anti-Immigrant Racism in the United States;" Read Ch. 11 of Chicano! (pp. 198-207) on The Chicano Moratorium and selected articles from Decade of Protest; Write a brief response paper on the relevance of these histories to the current problems of racial profiling and civil rights abuses in the post 9/11 context.

Saturday, April 13, 9:15 AM - 5:00 PM.

  • Lecture on current local/national organizing against war and its impacts on people of color: racial profiling and immigrant rights' abuses
  • Films: Shangri-La Cafe (20 mins) and The Zoot Suit Riots (60 mins)
  • View Ansel Adams and NAATA websites on Japanese internment
  • View Culture Clash website and CSPG posters
  • Seminar discussion drawing from papers, websites and film

Assignment for Wednesday, April 17: Read "Boundaries of Belief" by Barbara Tedlock and "Information Technology and the International Public Sphere" by Craig Calhoun (both on reserve)

Alerts:
Meeting to Support Immigrant Workers, especially airport workers in danger of losing their jobs, at AFSC in Seattle, Sunday, April 14, 2pm, 814 NE 40th Street.

Michael Moore & "Stupid White Men" Tour Across America. At Evergreen State College CRC. Monday, April 22nd at 8:00 PM. Evergreen students free with valid id, College & high-school students $3; general admission $5. (Tickets available at the door)

[Week 3]

Wednesday, April 17, 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM.

  • Presentation / discussion: Techno-Trickery (Doug)
  • Workshop: Techno-Trickery

Assignment: Read Ch. 7 (pp. 73-92) "Unafraid and Dignified: Welfare Recipients Organize for their Rights" of Roots of Justice and Chs. Intro, 1 and 5 (pp. 1-20, 21-54, 155-190) of Chang, Disposable Domestics. Write a short response paper, topic TBA in class

Alert: Nationwide Action on April 18, National Day of Truth: People of Color Against the War and on April 20, Anti-War/Anti-Racist Protests concurrently in San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

Write a short response paper, topic TBA (in class)

[Week 4]

Wednesday, April 24, 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM.

  • Lecture: current welfare rights organizing around upcoming TANF reauthorization
  • video: Eating Welfare by CAAAV, Committees Against Anti-Asian Violence
  • Workshop: student panel or WEDGE (Women's Education in the Global Economy) exercise

Assignment: Keep reading the Trickster Makes this World chapters for April 27 seminar. Write a 2-3 page response paper (due Saturday): "Define trickster" (as best you can) and apply the definition to a real or fictitious event or person. Also, as soon as you can, please send a true / false or multiple choice test question to me (douglas@scn.org) by Friday at noon. There will be a test on Saturday!

Saturday, April 27, 9:15 AM - 5:00 PM.

  • Seminar: on Trickster Makes this World readings; writings are due
  • Movie: Modern Times
  • Guest Speaker: Sheri Herndon, Independent Media Center, Seattle
  • Work on group projects

Assignment: For May 1st, bring in short description of which conference you'll be attending and wny.

Notes: Grace away

[Week 5]

Wednesday, May 1, 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM.

  • Presentation: A Pattern Language for Living Communication (Doug)
  • Workshop: A Pattern Language for Technology and Strategies for Social Change

Assignment: Work on final projects; Statement of final project proposal due next Wednesday, May 8

Assignments due: Conference plans

Notes: Discuss transportation and other plans for conferences.

[Week 6]

Wednesday, May 8, 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM.

  • Liberal Arts Forum, off campus location in downtown Olympia, TBA.

Assignment for Wednesday May 15: Read Chs.2 & 4 from Enloe, Bananas, Beaches and Bases and Ch. 4 of Chang, Disposable Domestics, and articles from Ms. and Colorlines on SAPs, sex trafficking and militarized sexual violence; Write short response paper, topic TBA

[Week 7]

Wednesday, May 15, 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM.

  • lecture on Global Trafficking in Women and Local/Global Resistance; Workshop on SAPs;
  • Video: Sisters and Daughters Betrayed
  • Seminar on papers and video

Assignment for Wednesday, May 22: Work on Projects

Notes: Doug won't be attending. Students from MES class will be joining us.

Thursday, May 16 - Sunday May 19, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM.

[Week 8]

Wednesday, May 22, 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM.

  • Debrief on symposium and conference;
  • Workshop: Tricksterism / Activism
  • Guest speaker: ~Naaperori Shirampari Asheninka Mino, from the indigenous community Ashaninka of Marankiari Bajo (Territory of the Snakes), Central Amazon zone in Peru.
Assignment: Read for next week: "Cybersubversion in the Information Economy" by Jackie Smith, "Reclaiming Choice" by Richard Sclove, "Radical Technologies" by Jill Bamburg, "Culture Jamming" by Kalle Lassen, and "hey, listen up" by Belvie Rooks (all on reserve). also "Electronic Civil Disobedience and the World Wide Web of Hacktivism: A Mapping of Extraparliamentarian Direct Action Net Politics" by Stefan Wray (http://www.nyu.edu/projects/wray/wwwhack.html) and "Artists After September 11" By Mike Alewitz (handout).

Assignment due: 1-2 page write-up on the event you attended over the weekend.

[Week 9]

Wednesday, May 29, 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM.

  • Work on projects in class
  • Seminar
Assignment: work on your research paper or project and prepare for presentations; prepare portfolio of your work for the quarter, including essays, in-class writings, final project or research paper, and self- and faculty evaluations.
[Week 10]

Wednesday, June 5, 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM.

  • Presentation: Civic Intelligence (Doug)
  • Student presentations

Saturday, June 8, 9:15 AM - 5:00 PM.

  • Student presentations and program debriefing
  • Class potluck
  • Assignment: turn in your portfolio;
[Evaluation Week]

Student/Faculty conferences by appointment. Doug will probably meet with his students on Wednesday June 12.

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